One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

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Kashgar
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One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by Kashgar »

On this historic day I thought it might be appropriate to start a strand devoted to man's quest to go 'out there' to the moon and beyond as depicted in strips and stories both comic and serious.
So to kick things off I'll throw Penny and Peter Pleasant into the ring as the lunar explorers who discovered the Moonsters in the Sparky and Mick Merry who similarly came across the Moon Men in Mick on the Moon in Beezer.

steelclaw
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by steelclaw »

Bring back 'Countdown' with the free Mega wallchart poster with free Apollo and Moon stamps free with issues 2 & 3, I had that on my wall for years.
Image

Image
Last edited by steelclaw on 20 Jul 2009, 14:11, edited 1 time in total.

Lew Stringer
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by Lew Stringer »

Moon Madness by Brian Lewis, Smash! No.9, 2nd April 1966:

Image

I'll be posting the long-awaited blog about this strip later today, chums! (After I've finished the latest Beano page.)

Lew
The blog of British comics: http://lewstringer.blogspot.com
My website: http://www.lewstringer.com
Blog about my own work: http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com/

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Steve Henderson
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by Steve Henderson »

Eric Wimp originated from the moon! But his powers came from bananas! Don't know if this backstory was ever altered when he joined the dandy

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Digifiend
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by Digifiend »

I'm afraid it was contradicted by the 1991 Dandy Book, which said he was born on Earth. General Blight steals some radioactive Saturnium, hides in a "kitching" (yes, that what the sign on the door said), and hides the Saturnuim in a banana skin. He then takes the fruit bowl to Eric's mum, but baby Little Eric swipes the "banana", and becomes Bananaman for the very first time. One of his superpowers is the ability to speak - Eric is only shown to gurgle, but Bananaman speaks fluently.

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philcom55
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by philcom55 »

Digifiend wrote:I'm afraid it was contradicted by the 1991 Dandy Book, which said he was born on Earth.
Ah! But that was the Earth One Bananaman! :wink:

- Phil Rushton

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Digifiend
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by Digifiend »

Well, Bananaman himself was narrating it. So it could be that the goon was telling porkies, and the moon origin, which was used in the TV show, remains canon. Not that The Dandy has any continuity in its strips... :lol:

The early origin may have been contradicted, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Good DC Comics joke though Phil. A parallel universe is another possibility, since the same strip broke the fourth wall by having Nutty staff (and yes, they did use names like Nutty Editor, not Dandy Editor, so they told the truth about his real origin) pitching ideas for a new character.

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philcom55
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by philcom55 »

Moony from the Moon was an alien shapeshifter who enjoyed a very successful run in Harold Hare's Own Paper and Playhour. This example appeared in the former back in January 1960:
Image

- Phil Rushton

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philcom55
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by philcom55 »

Did you know that the first moon mission actually took place in secret in 1961? What's more it was manned by a couple of RAF pilots from the future who'd been stranded in the past while testing the first Faster-Than-Light starship. This penultimate episode of the Jet Ace Logan adventure 'Moon Mission', drawn by John Gillatt, appeared in the 29/4/61 issue of Tiger and makes a fascinating comparison with the actual events of 1969:
Image
Image
(...The diamond shape in the middle actually shows the rocket blasting off by the way - unfortunately Tiger's large page size meant it wouldn't quite fit my scanner! )

- Phil Rushton
Last edited by philcom55 on 20 Jul 2009, 21:31, edited 1 time in total.

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Digifiend
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by Digifiend »

Didn't come back? I'm intrigued. The only times that happened in reality is when a spacecraft is destroyed en route - Challenger and Apollo 13 spring to mind. I don't suppose you have the final part from the following issue as well Phil?

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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by NP »

Digifiend wrote:Didn't come back? I'm intrigued. The only times that happened in reality is when a spacecraft is destroyed en route - Challenger and Apollo 13 spring to mind.
Well Apollo 13 DID come back of course.
Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003) were the two shuttles that didn't.
(Apollo 1 never took off, it's 3 astronauts killed during a test in 1967.)
The Soviets lost cosmonauts, too, on Soyuz 1 (1967) and Soyuz 11 (1971).
Not especially cheery but factual.

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Digifiend
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by Digifiend »

Yeah, but it famously ran into trouble, and the Hollywood blockbuster film brings it to mind first. Have just checked the facts, and it did come close to being another casualty, and failed to make it to the moon as intended.

Lew Stringer
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by Lew Stringer »

philcom55 wrote:Did you know that the first moon mission actually took place in secret in 1961?
Surely not. According to Smash! the Russians were the first to the Moon in 1966! :lol:

See:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2009/07 ... dness.html

Lew

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colcool007
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by colcool007 »

Well, Jet Ace Logan certainly beats Wonder Mann H K Rodd (from the Victor) by a full year! Curses! :D
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!

grumpy old man
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Re: One Small Step - Moon Wanderers and Others

Post by grumpy old man »

Then their was the Young Aces of Space in the Hotspur in 1970 all about kids doing astronaut training in Space School (whatever happened to all that bright shinny optimism?).

Also over at Hotspur was Splash Downs who was an American naval officer in charge of picking up er…splashed down satellites etc in the early 70’s but when the strip was brought back in the late 70’s he’d become British! Comics and continuity eh!

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